Where can I buy a blade to fit my sword?

[Ian Lim]

Hi All,
I purchased a japanese sword recently but it comes with a wooden blade.

is there a dealer or website where I can buy a blade to fit my sword?
ebay is full of fakes.

I need a real blade to chop some melons

[Budo45]

Melon choppers

As you may know the mounts are for WW 11 Gunto it was made to fit a blade that is now gone, very hard to find one that will fit, like your shoes wont fit me and Versa, if you want a melon chopper id buy one of the Ebay swords from China for around a buck fifty that are made for back yard fun, if you want a real cutter id get Gunto with a Seki or Showa stamp runs around eight hundred to grand, please do not use a true Nihonto for cutting unless your trained in such.

[Ian Lim]

would you know why it came with wood blade ?

I'm new to this Japanese sword collecting but I want to start and this is my first piece, suppose to be authentic but why did it come with a fitting wood blade...

[SWE Erik]

It sometimes happens that the blade is sold and the buyer doesn't want the rest...
Or that the blade was cut after ww2.

/Erik

[cbuehler]

It is very common in Japan to use a wood or bamboo filler blade for the mounts and if store the blade in a plain Shirasaya scabbard, but this is usually only if it is an exceptionally valuable blade.
It is also sometimes done to keep the mounts together if the blade was sold seperately. It may have had a good older blade in it and this is commonly done as military mounts are of no interest to most Japanese sword collectors. Blades and mounts have seperate values.
It may be impossible to find a blade to fit as each sword is different and all mounts are essentially custom made to fit.

CB

[GHP]

Well .... not impossible -- but highly expensive. You could commission a modern smith to forge one for you as a 武道用 budo-yo (for martial arts) blade and it would cost "only" about $6,000.

With proper training you could then cut bamboo and makiwara (rice straw rolls) -- but never melons. You could cut melons more effectively with a kitchen knife.

My late teacher (bottom photo, right) would say, "use a proper blade for the job!"


At Camp Jinmu on the North China-Soviet border 1944. Conducting a special performance of sword versus bayonet forms during a military festival.
Bayonet: Sergeant Major Yoshii; Sword: Sergeant Nakamura Taizaburo


Cheers,
Guy Power
http://webdiva4hire.com/kenshinkan/

[Ian Lim]

Hi All, I appreciate all the information and views.thank you.

looks like my first purchase was a mistake, all I have is a toy wooden sword .

[RodneyO]

Aloha Ian,
I wouldn’t say “first purchase was a mistake”, it’s a very nice WW2 shin-gunto mount with tsunagi ( wooden blade ). If you’re getting into Japanese sword, Richard Fuller and Jim Dawson has one of the best books on WW2 swords. Robert Benson’s website, (www.bushidojapaneseswords.com ) has some nice sword but are not for beginners. He also recommends that one of the sword that’s for sale to be put in a shirasaya and a tsunagi made for the military mounts.
Good luck, there are lots of nice sword to be found but watch out on ebay for sword coming out of China.
Mele Kalikimaka,
Rodney

[Ian Lim]

Hi Rodney,
thanks for the information.

Hi All,

My impression was these army sword parts, saya , blades were mass produced by the army for all NCOs and Officers?

shouldn't there be some standard measurements for these swords parts, saya and blades so they can all fit together?

if the handles were custom made to fit each blade, does it mean all the soldiers had to individually hire smiths to make their own swords and handles?

if someone who have 2 of these WW2 swords with blades will be so kind to try swapping the blades and saya to see if they fit please.

My sword measurements:-
Tsuka and saya measures 39 inches from end to end when put together.
The saya measures 29 inches long, tsuka measures 9.75 inches long.
Opening for blade on the saya measures 1.25 x 0.5 inches.

sorry, I am a newbie with so many questions...

[Budo45]

it would be hard to fit

buying off ebay, the best way is to do a search for sellers of japanese swords, your best bet is to go to a sword show, which is hard for you giving you location. Yes one can find blades to fit but you have to have it in hand to try the fit and buying one at a time is not the way to go, you can ask here at NMB

http://militaria.co.za/nihontomessageboard/index.php

someone may point you to someone who just has blades, you can email me at H2obro1@aol.com and ill point you to a seller that sometimes has bare blades, he does have a Nagamitsu on ebay now that you can search for on the bay but it might not fit then where would you be. Id put it back on ebay and try again when you get your money back. good luck

[RodneyO]

Aloha Ian,
I have tried putting a Shinto Period wakizashi in a WW2 leather covered wooden saya for military use and a civilian lacquered saya and both didn’t fit ( both sayas matched the length of the blade ). The tsuka also didn’t fit. In a military scabbard there’s a wooden liner that I think can be removed and changed to fit another blade. The Japanese Army had Sword Refurbishment Units that accompanied them throughout the occupied areas ( Fuller’s book ). There are many factors why the blade won't fit ( curvature of the blade is one ) and if you find one that does, the tsuka might not.

Good luck and hope this helps,
Rodney

[SCHUPO]

Ian,

I would leave the sword alone and simply keep it for what it is... a sword with a wooden blade. Perfectly OK as a sword variation. Get another with a steel blade if that is what you want to cut mellons with. Sword collections do not consist of only one sword.

[gunto]

Hello
I had a shingunto koshira , and I mounted a Hanwei blade where I only cut down nakago.It fits like it was made for the mountings.
So my point is , if You wanna chop mellons then use new blade ,and its not a"crime" to alter it.
Hanwei swords are cheap, go to sword store with Your saya.

vola, im sure You find one that fits ,with a little change.

I do a lot in restoring japanese swords.

[Ian Lim]

Hello Rodney and gunto, thanks for all the information.

I will follow SCHUPO's advice and leave this as a wood variation. If I can find a new blade to fit all the better.

Budo45, that is a great site to start! thanks!

[Ian Lim]

Hi All, You got to see this!

http://www.bugei.com/

This guy is a real pro!